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Darwin's notes for his physician, 1865
Summary
On 20 May 1865, Emma Darwin recorded in her diary that John Chapman, a prominent London publisher who had studied medicine in London and Paris in the early 1840s, visited Down to consult with Darwin about his ill health. In 1863 Chapman started to treat…
Matches: 11 hits
- … On 20 May 1865, Emma Darwin recorded in her diary that John Chapman, a prominent London publisher …
- … Chapman wasn’t the first medical practitioner Darwin contacted around this time. In 1863, Darwin …
- … however, his health grew worse. In his ‘Journal’, Darwin wrote that he fell ill again on 22 April …
- … more attacks of vomiting and seeking another opinion, Darwin wrote to Chapman. On the day that …
- … life (the section, ‘I feel nearly … food’, is in Emma Darwin’s hand). Darwin began the ice …
- … given up the treatment (see letter from Charles and Emma Darwin to J. D. Hooker, [10 July 1865]). …
- … and George Busk (see letter to J. D. Hooker, [7 January 1865], and letter from George Busk, 28 April …
- … solutions to aid digestion ( Correspondence vol. 11, Emma Darwin to W. D. Fox, 8 December [1863]) …
- … D. Hooker, 26[-7] March [1864] ( Correspondence vol. 12), Darwin remarked that Jenner had found …
- … reading, brings on these Head symptoms ?? nervousness when E. leaves me. (What I vomit …
- … Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library, Darwin Evolution Collection (3314) and is …
Women’s scientific participation
Summary
Observers | Fieldwork | Experimentation | Editors and critics | Assistants Darwin’s correspondence helps bring to light a community of women who participated, often actively and routinely, in the nineteenth-century scientific community. Here is a…
Matches: 17 hits
- … | Editors and critics | Assistants Darwin’s correspondence helps bring to light a …
- … Women: Letter 1194 - Darwin to Whitby, M. A. T., [12 August 1849] Darwin …
- … peculiarities in inheritance. Letter 3787 - Darwin, H. E. to Darwin, [29 October …
- … garden. Letter 4523 - Wedgwood, L. C. to Darwin, [6 June 1864] Darwin’s …
- … officinalis . Letter 5745 - Barber, M. E. to Darwin, [after February 1867] …
- … home in South Africa. Letter 6736 - Gray, A. & J. L to Darwin, [8 & 9 May …
- … to Darwin’s queries about Expression during a trip to Egypt. Letter 7223 …
- … January 1868] Darwin asks Thomas Huxley to pass on a questionnaire to his wife, Henrietta. …
- … 6535 - Vaughan Williams , M. S. to Darwin, H. E., [after 14 October 1869] Darwin’s …
- … of wormholes. Letter 8611 - Cupples, A. J. to Darwin, E., [8 November1872] …
- … her niece’s ears. Letter 8701 - Lubbock, E. F . to Darwin, [1873] Ellen …
- … [23 April 1874] Thereza Story-Maskelyne responds to a letter of Darwin’s which was …
- … insects. Men: Letter 2221 - Blyth, E. to Darwin, [22 February 1858] …
- … New Zealand. Letter 6453 - Langton, E. to Wedgwood, S. E., [9 November 1868] …
- … on the wallpaper. Letter 5756 - Langton, E. & C. to Wedgwood S. E., [after 9 …
- … Letter 4823 - Wedgwood, L. C. to Darwin, H. E., [May 1865] Darwin’s niece, Lucy, …
- … Letter 4928 - Henslow, G. to Darwin, [11 November 1865] J. S. Henslow’s son, George, …
3.10 Ernest Edwards, 'Men of Eminence'
Summary
< Back to Introduction In 1865 Darwin was invited to feature in another series of published photographs, Portraits of Men of Eminence in Literature, Science and Art, with Biographical Memoirs . . . The Photographs from Life by Ernest Edwards, B.A.…
Matches: 12 hits
- … < Back to Introduction In 1865 Darwin was invited to feature in another series of …
- … Memoirs . . . The Photographs from Life by Ernest Edwards, B.A. This enterprise had been …
- … size (octavo) and in the scale of the tipped-in photographs. Darwin wrote to Walford, probably in …
- … more than one sitting seems to have taken place, in November 1865 and April 1866. Darwin’s account …
- … distinguishes the true Philosopher’. The beard that Darwin had grown by 1865–1866 helped to …
- … the wrist of the other hand, in the manner that Francis Darwin said was characteristic of him. This …
- … one is an extended three-quarter view showing the seat of Darwin’s chair and his long crossed legs, …
- … self-conscious than in the Maull and Polyblank photographs, Darwin nevertheless appears wan and …
- … to Darwin’s family. His brother Erasmus – always a careful custodian of Charles’s public image – …
- … which derived from the three-quarter view photograph of 1865–1866 mentioned above (see separate …
- … of image Ernest Edwards date of creation 1865–1866 computer-readable date …
- … Letter from Darwin to Edward Walford, 22 [Jan. – April 1865?], (DCP-LETT-5508). Letter from Erasmus …
Referencing women’s work
Summary
Darwin's correspondence shows that women made significant contributions to Darwin's work, but whether and how they were acknowledged in print involved complex considerations of social standing, professional standing, and personal preference.…
Matches: 13 hits
- … Darwin's correspondence shows that women made significant contributions to Darwin's work, …
- … Animal intelligence referred to the contributions of 'a young lady, who objects to her name …
- … throughout Variation . Letter 2395 - Darwin to Holland, Miss, [April 1860] …
- … anonymised and masculinised. Letter 3316 - Darwin to Nevill, D. F., [12 November …
- … Nevill is referenced by name for her “kindness” in Darwin’s Fertilisation of Orchids . …
- … Letter 4794 - Darwin to Lyell, C., [25 March 1865] Darwin asks Charles Lyell for …
- … by numerous women of their infants are not referenced in a section of Expression on ‘the …
- … was novelist Elizabeth Gaskell for her description of a crying baby in Mary Barton. …
- … Mould and Earthworms but she was identified only as “a lady, on whose accuracy I can implicitly …
- … near his house. Letter 8168 - Ruck, A. R. to Darwin, H., [20 January 1872] …
- … activity undertaken around Machynlleth in Wales. She has dug a number of trenches, measured soil …
- … fields of North Wales. Letter 8193 - Ruck, A. R. to Darwin, H., [1 February …
- … . Letter 12745 - Darwin to Wedgwood, K. E. S., [8 October 1880] Darwin …
Religion
Summary
Design|Personal Belief|Beauty|The Church Perhaps the most notorious realm of controversy over evolution in Darwin's day was religion. The same can be said of the evolution controversy today; however the nature of the disputes and the manner in…
Matches: 14 hits
- … the most notorious realm of controversy over evolution in Darwin's day was religion. The same …
- … nineteenth century were different in important ways. Many of Darwin's leading supporters were …
- … their religious beliefs with evolutionary theory. Darwin's own writing, both in print and …
- … although he tended to avoid the subject as much as possible. A number of correspondents tried to …
- … political contexts. Design Darwin was not the first to challenge …
- … on the controversial topic of design. The first is between Darwin and Harvard botanist Asa Gray, …
- … Gray and tells him Origin has “stirred up the mud with a vengeance”; Gray and three or four …
- … for the attention now given to the subject. He poses Gray a question on design in nature, as he is …
- … He also discusses his views on design. He shares a witty thought experiment about an angel. …
- … Letter 5307 — Darwin, C. R. to Boole, M. E., 14 Dec 1866 Darwin believes he is unable to …
- … Letter 8070 — Darwin, C. R. to Abbot, F. E., 16 Nov [1871] Darwin explains why he must …
- … Letter 4752 — Darwin, C. R. to Lyell, Charles, 22 Jan [1865] Darwin writes to King's …
- … Letter 4939 — Shaw, James to Darwin, C. R., 20 Nov 1865 Scottish school teacher and writer …
- … Letter 4943 — Darwin, C. R. to Shaw, James, 30 Nov 1865 Darwin writes to James Shaw. He is …
Darwin on race and gender
Summary
Darwin’s views on race and gender are intertwined, and mingled also with those of class. In Descent of man, he tried to explain the origin of human races, and many of the differences between the sexes, with a single theory: sexual selection. Sexual…
Matches: 22 hits
- … Darwin’s views on race and gender are intertwined, and mingled also with …
- … races, and many of the differences between the sexes, with a single theory: sexual selection. Sexual …
- … in beetles. The unity of human species Darwin believed that the same process of sexual …
- … gradually increase those features over long periods of time. Darwin’s theory was based partly on the …
- … seemed to prevail across the globe. In Descent , Darwin also addressed widely held beliefs …
- … in effect separate species), and the fixity of racial types. A leading factor in disputes about …
- … of ‘species’, ‘varieties’, and ‘races’. Darwin argued forcefully for the unity of the human species, …
- … Gender and civilisation In his early notebooks, Darwin remarked that survival value or …
- … , B74). In his later writings on plants and animals, Darwin remained consistent on this point, and …
- … improvement, or design. However, when it came to humans, Darwin reintroduced the structure of …
- … and present, on the basis of their ‘civilization’. Here Darwin drew on contemporary anthropology, …
- … colonial conquests and expansion abroad. Thus, while Darwin’s views on race differed widely …
- … men, and of non-European peoples becoming ‘civilized’ (i.e. European). Of the three Yahgans who had …
- … ( Beagle diary , p. 143). He was delighted to receive a letter from an African correspondent …
- … Gaika as an authoritative observer in Expression . He had a number of women correspondents who …
- … [1862] Letter from F. W. Farrar, 6 November 1865 Letter to J. P. M. Weale, 27 …
- … the making of the colonial order in the Eastern Cape, 1770–1865 . Cambridge: Cambridge University …
- … Press. Desmond, Adrian and James Moore. 2009. Darwin's sacred cause . London: Allen …
- … British Journal of the History of Science 6: 9–23 [in a special issue on ‘Descent of Darwin: race, …
- … . New York: The Free Press. Voss, Julia. 2007, Darwin’s pictures: views of evolutionary …
- … with women Key letters : Letter to H. E. Darwin, [8 February 1870] …
- … Letter to [E. M. Dicey?], [1877] Letter to C. A. Kennard, 9 January 1882 …
Darwin in letters, 1867: A civilised dispute
Summary
Charles Darwin’s major achievement in 1867 was the completion of his large work, The variation of animals and plants under domestication (Variation). The importance of Darwin’s network of correspondents becomes vividly apparent in his work on expression in…
Matches: 18 hits
- … Charles Darwin’s major achievement in 1867 was the completion of his large work, …
- … to correct proofs, and just when completion seemed imminent, a further couple of months were needed …
- … selection in forming human races, and there was also to be a chapter on the meaning and cause of the …
- … ), published in 1871, and the chapter on expression into a book, The expression of the emotions in …
- … who might best answer the questions, with the result that Darwin began to receive replies from …
- … Variation would be based on proof-sheets received as Darwin corrected them. Closer to home, two …
- … orchids are fertilised by insects ( Orchids ). While Darwin privately gave detailed opinions of …
- … capable hands of Alfred Russel Wallace. At the same time, Darwin was persuaded by some German …
- … were becoming counterproductive. Throughout the year, Darwin continued to discuss now …
- … self-sterility, pollination, and seed dispersal with a growing network of correspondents who worked …
- … in Germany, and Federico Delpino in Italy, who provided Darwin with the collegial support and …
- … started in January 1860, and advertised in the press since 1865 with the unwieldy title, …
- … chapter and remained doubtful whether or not to include a chapter ‘on Man’. After a few days, he …
- … apparently discussing it or showing it to anyone until 1865, when he sent a version of it to Huxley, …
- … a book based on a series of articles that had appeared in 1865. In it he challenged aspects of …
- … her, & as it seems very unjustly’ ( letter to W. E. Darwin, 27 [March 1867] ). Unfortunately, …
- … vol. 13, letter to J. D. Hooker, 9 February [1865] and n. 4). Darwin’s wife and children also …
- … are excellent, excellent, excellent’ ( letter to H. E. Darwin, 26 July [1867] ). The year ended as …
Science: A Man’s World?
Summary
Discussion Questions|Letters Darwin's correspondence show that many nineteenth-century women participated in the world of science, be it as experimenters, observers, editors, critics, producers, or consumers. Despite this, much of the…
Matches: 12 hits
- … Discussion Questions | Letters Darwin's correspondence show that many nineteenth …
- … Letters Darwin’s Notes On Marriage [April - July 1838] In these notes, …
- … of family, home and sociability. Letter 489 - Darwin to Wedgwood, E., [20 January 1839] …
- … theories, & accumulating facts in silence & solitude”. Darwin also comments that he has …
- … by”. Letter 3715 - Claparède, J. L. R. A. E. to Darwin, [6 September 1862] …
- … Self-taught in “semi-masculine education”, Royer is a “singular individual whose attractions are not …
- … she has read Lamarck’s work under her own steam and is a “first rate critic”. Letter 4377 …
- … of feminine works”. Letter 4441 - Becker, L. E. to Darwin, [30 March 1864] …
- … ladies, to study nature. Letter 4940 - Cresy, E. to Darwin, E., [20 November 1865] …
- … pedantic”. Letter 6976 - Darwin to Blackwell, A. B., [8 November 1869] Darwin …
- … the Royal Society library. Kovalevsky would like to read a book by Jacobi on elliptic and theta …
- … to women. Letter 10746 – Darwin to Dicey, E. M., [1877] Darwin gives his …
Darwin in letters,1866: Survival of the fittest
Summary
The year 1866 began well for Charles Darwin, as his health, after several years of illness, was now considerably improved. In February, Darwin received a request from his publisher, John Murray, for a new edition of Origin. Darwin got the fourth…
Matches: 19 hits
- … The year 1866 began well for Charles Darwin, as his health, after several years of illness, was now …
- … all but the concluding chapter of the work was submitted by Darwin to his publisher in December. …
- … hypothesis of hereditary transmission. Debate about Darwin’s theory of transmutation …
- … of special creation on the basis of alleged evidence of a global ice age, while Asa Gray pressed …
- … the details of Hooker’s proposed talk formed the basis of a lengthy and lively exchange of letters …
- … responded philosophically to these deaths, regarding both as a merciful release from painful illness …
- … January [1866] ). Darwin had first consulted Jones in July 1865 and attributed his improved health …
- … a preliminary sketch of pangenesis to Thomas Henry Huxley in 1865 (see Correspondence vol. 13), and …
- … Agassiz undertook an ambitious expedition to Brazil in 1865 and 1866, partly with a view to finding …
- … after the startling apparition of your face at R.S. Soirèe—which I dreamed of 2 nights running. …
- … on those terms so you are in for it’ ( letter from H. E. Darwin, [ c . 10 May 1866] ). …
- … Georg Bronn, had been published in 1860 and 1863 by the firm E. Schweizerbart’sche …
- … was ‘merely ordinaryly diœcious’ ( letter from W. E. Darwin, [7 May – 11 June 1866] ). On …
- … a case of dimorphic becoming diœcious’ ( letter from W. E. Darwin, 20 June [1866] ). Darwin …
- … I am well accustomed to such explosions’ ( letter to W. E. Darwin, 22 June [1866] ). He urged …
- … copies of his earlier botanical publications at the end of 1865, Darwin wrote in January 1866, …
- … of the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution in December 1865. Despite concerns about the ongoing …
- … support the Jamaica Committee, which had formed in December 1865 to lobby for the criminal …
- … indeed at poor Susan’s loneliness’ ( letter from E. C. Langton to Emma and Charles Darwin, [6 and 7 …
Darwin in letters, 1869: Forward on all fronts
Summary
At the start of 1869, Darwin was hard at work making changes and additions for a fifth edition of Origin. He may have resented the interruption to his work on sexual selection and human evolution, but he spent forty-six days on the task. Much of the…
Matches: 14 hits
- … At the start of 1869, Darwin was hard at work making changes and additions for a fifth edition of …
- … appeared at the end of 1866 and had told his cousin William Darwin Fox, ‘My work will have to stop a …
- … views on all points will have to be modified.— Well it is a beginning, & that is something’ ( …
- … material on emotional expression. Yet the scope of Darwin’s interests remained extremely broad, and …
- … plants, and earthworms, subjects that had exercised Darwin for decades, and that would continue to …
- … Carl von Nägeli and perfectibility Darwin’s most substantial addition to Origin was a …
- … principal engine of change in the development of species. Darwin correctly assessed Nägeli’s theory …
- … account for changes in most morphological features (Nägeli 1865, p. 29). Darwin sent a manuscript of …
- … to J. D. Hooker, 13 January 1869 ). Hooker went straight to a crucial point: ‘I do not quite like …
- … are & must be morphological’. The comment highlights Darwin’s apparent confusion about Nägeli’s …
- … ‘purely morphological’. The modern reader may well share Darwin’s uncertainty, but Nägeli evidently …
- … only be altered by his perfectibility principle (Nägeli 1865, pp. 28–9). In further letters, Hooker …
- … problems of heredity Another important criticism that Darwin sought to address in the fifth …
- … been since his last period of prolonged illness in 1864 and 1865, although a particularly low spell …
3.5 William Darwin, photo 2
Summary
< Back to Introduction Darwin’s son William, who had become a banker in Southampton, took the opportunity of a short visit home to Down House in April 1864 to photograph his father afresh. This half-length portrait was the first to show Darwin with a…
Matches: 11 hits
- … < Back to Introduction Darwin’s son William, who had become a banker in Southampton, …
- … out’ for copies, and would be ‘enchanted’ by Darwin’s new persona. When Asa Gray received the …
- … from Christ’s College days, Benjamin Dann Walsh, thought Darwin looked little changed, except for …
- … Naudin also received copies of William’s photograph, Darwin explaining to the latter that he had ‘no …
- … bringing down the tables of the law to the Israelites, a newly unveiled mural in the House of …
- … features of ‘Ignorant’, ‘Insane’ and ‘Idiotic’. Darwin himself, in a letter of 1848, had jested that …
- … of course more fashionable, but the dramatic luxuriance of Darwin’s beard (untrimmed except round …
- … of technical polish and its blurred, shadowy tones, William Darwin’s photograph of his father was …
- … was a cause of later confusion). According to a letter from Darwin’s daughter Henrietta to her …
- … (DCP-LETT-4707); Naudin’s gushing acknowledgement, 18 June 1865 (DCP-LETT-4863). Letter from …
- … German edition, from 4 th English edition (Stuttgart: E. Schweizerbart, 1867), frontispiece …
Darwin in letters, 1864: Failing health
Summary
On receiving a photograph from Charles Darwin, the American botanist Asa Gray wrote on 11 July 1864: ‘the venerable beard gives the look of your having suffered, and … of having grown older’. Because of poor health, Because of poor health, Darwin…
Matches: 21 hits
- … On receiving a photograph from Charles Darwin, the American botanist Asa Gray wrote on 11 …
- … … of having grown older’. This portrait, the first of Darwin with his now famous beard, had been …
- … of dimorphic plants with William’s help; he also ordered a selection of new climbing plants for his …
- … 52 hours without vomiting!! In the same month, Darwin began to consult William Jenner, …
- … physician-in-ordinary to Queen Victoria. Jenner prescribed a variety of antacids and purgatives, and …
- … the dimorphic aquatic cut-grass Leersia . In May, Darwin finished his paper on Lythrum …
- … continued throughout the summer. When he finished a preliminary draft of his paper on climbing …
- … he had set aside the previous summer. In October, Darwin let his friends know that on his …
- … and he received more letters of advice from Jenner. In a letter of 15 December [1864] to the …
- … November and December were also marked by the award to Darwin of the Royal Society’s Copley Medal; …
- … been unsuccessfully nominated the two previous years. As Darwin explained to his cousin William …
- … arose over the grounds on which it was conferred, brought a dramatic conclusion to the year. Darwin …
- … his observations indoors ( Correspondence vol. 11). In a letter of [27 January 1864] , Darwin …
- … However, the queries that Darwin, describing himself as ‘a broken-down brother-naturalist’, sent to …
- … for another specimen: ‘I want it fearfully for it is a leaf climber & therefore sacred’ ( …
- … which Darwin submitted to the Linnean Society in January 1865. Climbers and twiners …
- … transitional forms. Darwin came to think, for example, that a leaf, while still serving the …
- … Menyanthes ( letter from Emma and Charles Darwin to W. E. Darwin, [20 May 1864] ), or his …
- … circulating with the 1864 subscription fund ( letter from E. A. Darwin, 1 February [1864] ). …
- … says when I read his discussion in the Elements [C. Lyell 1865] I shall recant for fifth time’ ( …
- … … & too light to turn into candlesticks’ ( letter from E. A. Darwin, 1 December 1864 ). …
Darwin in letters, 1882: Nothing too great or too small
Summary
In 1882, Darwin reached his 74th year Earthworms had been published the previous October, and for the first time in decades he was not working on another book. He remained active in botanical research, however. Building on his recent studies in plant…
Matches: 21 hits
- … In 1882, Darwin reached his 74th year Earthworms had been published the previous …
- … chlorophyll by examining thin slices of plant tissue under a microscope. When not experimenting, he …
- … for scientific colleagues or their widows facing hardship. Darwin had suffered from poor health …
- … more weak than usual. To Lawson Tait, he remarked, ‘I feel a very old man, & my course is nearly …
- … early April, he was being carried upstairs with the aid of a special chair. The end came on 19 April …
- … 1881. But some of his scientific friends quickly organised a campaign for Darwin to have greater …
- … Botanical observation and experiment had long been Darwin’s greatest scientific pleasure. The year …
- … to Fritz Müller, 4 January 1882 ). These were topics that Darwin had been investigating for years, …
- … working at the effects of Carbonate of Ammonia on roots,’ Darwin wrote, ‘the chief result being that …
- … the nature of their contents, if immersed for some hours in a weak solution of C. of Ammonia’. …
- … London on 6 and 16 March, respectively. In January, Darwin corresponded with George John …
- … vol. 28, letter from Arthur de Souza Corrêa, 20 October 1880 , and Correspondence vol. 29, …
- … up the results on Brazilian cane, with Darwin providing a detailed outline: ‘I had no intention to …
- … the flowers & experimentising on them’ ( letter to J. E. Todd, 10 April 1882 ). While …
- … he is a good deal depressed about himself’ (letter from H. E. Litchfield to G. H. Darwin, 17 March …
- … is very calm but she has cried a little’ (letter from H. E. Litchfield to G. H. Darwin, [19 April …
- … overflowing in tenderness’ (letter from Emma Darwin to W. E. Darwin, 10 May 1882 (DAR 219.1: 150)). …
- … he had witnessed an earthquake in 1835 ( letter from R. E. Alison, [March–July 1835 ]). …
- … without any mercy’ ( letter from Emma Wedgwood to F. E. E. Wedgwood, [28 October 1836] , letter …
- … to T. F. Jamieson, 24 January [1863] ). From 1863 to 1865, Darwin suffered the most extended …
- … to have known’ ( letter to Charles Kingsley, 2 June [1865] ). In the years following …
Race, Civilization, and Progress
Summary
Darwin's first reflections on human progress were prompted by his experiences in the slave-owning colony of Brazil, and by his encounters with the Yahgan peoples of Tierra del Fuego. Harsh conditions, privation, poor climate, bondage and servitude,…
Matches: 20 hits
- … Letters | Selected Readings Darwin's first reflections on human progress were …
- … human progress or cause degeneration. In the "Fuegians", Darwin thought he had witnessed …
- … homeland by Robert FitzRoy several years earlier as part of a missionary enterprise. Darwin was …
- … been returned to their native land. After the voyage, Darwin began to question the …
- … toward increased complexity and variety, he suggested, was a bi-product of the abundance of life; …
- … After the publication of Origin of Species , many of Darwin's supporters continued to …
- … or extermination of other peoples and cultures. When Darwin wrote about the human races and …
- … on human and animal behavior accumulated over three decades. Darwin argued forcefully for the unity …
- … moral powers. The "grade of civilization", he wrote, "seems a most important element …
- … and beyond. Letters Darwin’s first observations of the peoples …
- … Cambridge, John Stevens Henslow. Letter 204 : Darwin to Henslow, J. S., 11 April 1833 …
- … Charles wrote to his sister, Emily Catherine Darwin, about witnessing slavery in the Portuguese …
- … effect in the following year. Letter 206 : Darwin to Darwin, E. C., 22 May [– 14 July] …
- … shown at elections, has been rising against Slavery.— What a proud thing for England, if she is the …
- … be altered; the only alteration I am aware of is forming a much higher estimate of the Negros …
- … descent. Letter 4933 : Farrar, F. W. to Darwin, 6 November 1865 "so …
- … have remained unaltered for say 5000 years—is not this a very strong argument for the Polygenist? …
- … questionnaire on expression in the Cape Colony, and received a set of replies from the South African …
- … Primary Charles Darwin, Notebooks, B 18-29; E 95-7 [ available at Darwinonline ] …
- … ] T. H. Huxley, "Methods and Results of Ethnology" (1865) [ available at archive …
Darwin in letters, 1874: A turbulent year
Summary
The year 1874 was one of consolidation, reflection, and turmoil for Darwin. He spent the early months working on second editions of Coral reefs and Descent of man; the rest of the year was mostly devoted to further research on insectivorous plants. A…
Matches: 17 hits
- … 1874 was one of consolidation, reflection, and turmoil for Darwin. He spent the early months working …
- … mostly devoted to further research on insectivorous plants. A vicious dispute over an anonymous …
- … and traveller Alexander von Humboldt’s 105th birthday, Darwin obliged with a reflection on his debt …
- … one of the greatest men the world has ever produced. He gave a wonderful impetus to science by …
- … to D. T. Gardner, [ c . 27 August 1874] ). The death of a Cambridge friend, Albert Way, caused …
- … from W. D. Fox, 8 May [1874] ). Such reminiscences led Darwin to the self-assessment, ‘as for one …
- … I feel very old & helpless The year started for Darwin with a week’s visit to …
- … ( letter to B. J. Sulivan, 6 January [1874] ). Darwin mentioned his poor health so frequently in …
- … 1874 ). Séances, psychics, and sceptics Darwin excused himself for reasons of …
- … William Henry Myers, and Thomas Henry Huxley, who sent a long report to Darwin with the spirit …
- … America of the ‘strange news’ that Darwin had allowed ‘a spirit séance’ at his home ( letter from T …
- … Coral reefs His son Horace had suggested a new edition of the coral book in December 1873, …
- … all the horrid bother of correction’ ( letter to H. E. Litchfield, 21 [March 1874] ). The book …
- … artificial gastric juice for about a week ( letter from E. E. Klein, 14 May 1874 ). John Burdon …
- … try to get it exhibited at a Royal Society of London soirée (see letter from Anton Dohrn, 6 April …
- … nephew, the fine-art specialist Henry Parker ( letter from E. A. Darwin, 17 [March 1874] ). He …
- … Julius Victor Carus, and his publisher, Eduard Koch of E. Schweizerbart’sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, …
Darwin in letters, 1868: Studying sex
Summary
The quantity of Darwin’s correspondence increased dramatically in 1868 due largely to his ever-widening research on human evolution and sexual selection.Darwin’s theory of sexual selection as applied to human descent led him to investigate aspects of the…
Matches: 12 hits
- … On 6 March 1868, Darwin wrote to the entomologist and accountant John Jenner Weir, ‘If any …
- … and sexual selection. In Origin , pp. 87–90, Darwin had briefly introduced the concept of …
- … or in satisfying female preference in the mating process. In a letter to Alfred Russel Wallace in …
- … to the stridulation of crickets. At the same time, Darwin continued to collect material on …
- … his immediate circle of friends and relations. In July 1868 Darwin was still anticipating that his …
- … which was devoted to sexual selection in the animal kingdom. Darwin described his thirst for …
- … been advertised by the publisher John Murray as early as 1865, the two-volume work appeared in …
- … the work in November 1867 and had expected to complete it in a fortnight. But at Darwin’s request, …
- … the text. This increased the amount of work substantially. Darwin asked Murray to intervene, …
- … prepared to throw the Index overboard … though it would be a great loss to the Book’. But Darwin’s …
- … blank’ ( letter from W. S. Dallas, 8 January 1868 ). Darwin sympathised, replying on 14 January …
- … and had himself watched elephants cry (letters to W. E. Darwin, [15 March 1868] and 8 April …
The evolution of honeycomb
Summary
Honeycombs are natural engineering marvels, using the least possible amount of wax to provide the greatest amount of storage space, with the greatest possible structural stability. Darwin recognised that explaining the evolution of the honey-bee’s comb…
Matches: 19 hits
- … are used to store honey, nectar, and pollen, and to provide a nursery for bee larvae. The combs are …
- … space, with the greatest possible structural stability. Darwin recognised that explaining the …
- … as showing the workings of providence, the bee cell was a favourite subject. The question of how …
- … theology (1839), Brougham commented that bees acted with a discipline that in men could only be …
- … who before any geometer could calculate under what form a cell would occupy the least space without …
- … could have been given to it’ (Kirby 1852, 2: 246). Darwin’s copy of Brougham’s …
- … instance, if my theory explains one it may explain other.’ Darwin, and others working on …
- … theory of evolution by natural selection was supposed to be a comprehensive theory of life on earth: …
- … ever made cylindrical cells (Brougham 1839, 1: 32). However, Darwin knew that humble bees made …
- … construct: for example, birds’ nests are usually circular. Darwin argued that if the Melipona …
- … The second point, how bees actually built the comb, involved Darwin in a great deal of …
- … on the subject for a projected book on the species question, Darwin wrote to George Robert …
- … antagonistic principles and the proximity of other cells. Darwin’s letter has not been found, but …
- … Waterhouse but William Bernhard Tegetmeier (who had helped Darwin with his work on pigeons) and …
- … R. Waterhouse, 13 February 1858 .) In April 1858, Darwin went to London to meet William …
- … than any which had yet been devised’ ( ODNB ). Possibly Darwin consulted Miller simply on geometry …
- … in how a complex pattern may arise from natural forces. Darwin made notes for their discussion in a …
- … described their manner of building’ (letter to W. E. Darwin, [26 May 1858] .) To Tegetmeier, he …
- … precise measurement was bought to bear, a myth. In 1865, Darwin received a letter from Edward …
Movement in Plants
Summary
The power of movement in plants, published on 7 November 1880, was the final large botanical work that Darwin wrote. It was the only work in which the assistance of one of his children, Francis Darwin, is mentioned on the title page. The research for this…
Matches: 16 hits
- … 7 November 1880, was the final large botanical work that Darwin wrote. It was the only work in which …
- … about their research while he was away from home. Although Darwin lacked a state of the art research …
- … methods and use the most advanced laboratory equipment. Darwin also benefitted from the instrument …
- … that Francis had been introduced to at Würzburg. Darwin described his experimental practice …
- … plant physiology, but it was at its core informed by Darwin’s theory of evolution, particularly by …
- … general law or system’ In the early 1860s, at a time when his health was especially bad, …
- … in the Journal of the Linnean Society ( Botany ) in 1865, and was an attempt to explain the …
- … the topic within an evolutionary framework. He received a wealth of information from correspondents …
- … about the nature of movement, so much so, that at one point Darwin had considered combining the …
- … digestive processes. With his final great botanical work, Darwin would attempt ‘ to bring all the …
- … emotions had their origins in non-human animal expression. Darwin had not done experimental work in …
- … was the plant equivalent of digestion or reflex action at a physiological level? Was there a …
- … in his seminal handbook on experimental physiology of 1865. Sachs, who spent six years at the …
- … in the diversified movements of plants was stimulated by a phenomenon seemingly unrelated to …
- … He suspected that drops of water standing on the surface of a leaf might act like a lens focusing …
- … ‘Transversal-Heliotropismus’ ( letter from W. E. Darwin, 10 February [1880] ). Francis …
Darwin in letters, 1863: Quarrels at home, honours abroad
Summary
At the start of 1863, Charles Darwin was actively working on the manuscript of The variation of animals and plants under domestication, anticipating with excitement the construction of a hothouse to accommodate his increasingly varied botanical experiments…
Matches: 18 hits
- … At the start of 1863, Charles Darwin was actively working on the manuscript of The variation of …
- … , anticipating with excitement the construction of a hothouse to accommodate his increasingly varied …
- … briefly’ ( letter to John Scott, 31 May [1863] ), and in a letter of 23 [June 1863] he wrote …
- … am languid & bedeviled … & hate everybody’. Although Darwin did continue his botanical …
- … letter-writing dwindled considerably. The correspondence and Darwin’s scientific work diminished …
- … the correspondence from the year. These letters illustrate Darwin’s preoccupation with the …
- … Evidence as to man’s place in nature both had a direct bearing on Darwin’s species theory and on …
- … from ‘some Quadrumanum animal’, as he put it in a letter to J. D. Hooker of 24[–5] February [1863] …
- … detailed anatomical similarities between humans and apes, Darwin was full of praise. He especially …
- … in expressing any judgment on Species or origin of man’. Darwin’s concern about the popular …
- … Lyell’s and Huxley’s books. Three years earlier Darwin had predicted that Lyell’s forthcoming …
- … had been rapidly accumulating. Lyell’s argument for a greater human antiquity than was commonly …
- … from an ape-like animal, while dating human origins to a time far earlier than that decreed by …
- … ). Although English experts subsequently decided the jaw was a forgery, publications in learned …
- … seen how indignant all Owen’s lies and mean conduct about E. Columbi made me… . The case is come to …
- … Copley Medal had been unsuccessful ( see letter from E. A. Darwin to Emma Darwin, 11 November [1863 …
- … Gray, 4 August [1863] ). The results were published in his 1865 paper ‘Three forms of Lythrum …
- … the bookcase and around the head of the sofa ( letter to W. E. Darwin, [25 July 1863], and …
Darwin's illness
Summary
Was Darwin an invalid? In many photographs he looks wearied by age, wrapped in a great coat to protect him from cold. In a letter to his cousin William Fox, he wrote: "Long and continued ill health has much changed me, & I very often think with…
Matches: 8 hits
- … Was Darwin an invalid? In many photographs he looks wearied by age, wrapped in a great coat to …
- … mind remains the same with my old affections. " As a young man, Darwin experienced …
- … powers, ” he wrote to his sister, “ and that it is a great deal more easy to think too much in a …
- … more crippling, confining him to bed for weeks or months at a time. His most persistent troubles …
- … reading, brings on these Head symptoms ... nervousness when E. leaves me." Darwin came …
- … certain that the Water Cure is no quackery. " He had a special bath built at home, but …
- … failed to relieve his sickness, and he stopped after a month. Darwin's health …
- … hypo-adrenalism (the list goes on). Surprisingly, Darwin's health improved in later life. Emma …
